Broken
by FireAngel375
Summary: Finished Trudy returns to the city after living with the Eco's for many years. Unfortunatly, Lex teachers her how fragile life can be. See warnings!
1. Default Chapter

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to Broken. I have been writing this story since June of 2004. I posted it on under the pen name Catz95. This story is finished but I am not going to post it all at once. There are 15 chapters, and I will upload one every time I get a review. (I know! I said that for my other stories and never finished them but this one is pre-finished so no worries!) **

**Summery: Trudy has to return to the city again after many long years of living at the Eco camp. However Lex proves once again how fragile life is.**

**Warnings: There are themes of rape, violence, darkness, and depression in this story. If that is not your cup of tea I suggest you leave.**

**Disclaimer: All the character names, places, and ideas belong to Tribe World LTD. and Raymond Thompson. I do not own anything except the following; All of Bane City and all characters not in the show of "The Tribe". They are no way tied to "The Tribe" and are my own brainchild characters. **

**A/N: And without further a due, enjoy Broken.**

**Broken**

_Prologue_

Life. Sometimes I like to compare it to a porcelain doll. Why? Well its very simple. Life can be beautiful, but it's also delicate. One wrong move, and it could all break on you.

My whole world broke around me right when the virus struck. But after the birth of my daughter, Brady, I started to pick up the pieces again, slow at first, but soon, everything was almost fitting together perfectly. Except one piece was missing - a father for Brady. When the chosen came, they used that small hole to their advantage, and wormed their way into my life. Breaking it again.

Again when the Chosen were through I had to mend my life again, and it got harder. And as soon as the Technos came, I pretty much gave up I would ever be happy again. But now, 2 years after the Chosen, the Technos gone, and no evil in sight, I live with my daughter Brady, in peace, in the Eco's camp.

Amber is still leader, and the tribe has grown tremendously. Mostly because we all love the peacefulness and security this place has to offer. Who could know such a beautiful place could exist. Especially at this day and age. I never want to leave this place. Brady is growing up, and she is a happy healthy 6 year-old, with her whole life in front of her. I know Brady loves living here. She tells me every day.

But last week, I heard word that Bray had come back to the city. The minute Amber heard this; her and little 2 year-old Baby Bray were gone. I wanted to leave too, but I didn't want to bring my daughter back to that horrible place.

Today, Amber returned. She brought word that Bray looked wonderful, and loved his little son. But, he kept asking for Trudy - for me. And as much as it pains me I must return to the city. But I refuse to take my daughter. So now I leave her, she cry's and begs me not to go, but I must.

I promise her I'll return, Mommy won't be gone long, I tell her. So, after many tears, and a promise I intend to keep, Amber and me began a journey back to the city. But for me, Its not just a journey to go see a friend and come back home, its a journey back to my old life. The one I wanted to forget.


	2. Chapter 1

**auto-meiser: Thank you very much for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides the new charters I invented.**

Chapter 1

"Its not far now Trudy!" Amber said happily. She looked almost like a child. Her Zulu knots weren't as big as they usually were, and her cheeks were rosy and she looked like she had just come out of a candy store, and her mother had bought her half the sweets inside. Her outfit made her look more babyish, a purple top, a purple hat, and purple pants.

I could now see the city; for the first time in months. It looked the same, the old buildings left untouched after the virus, graffiti everywhere, dirt, and dreadful memories.

As we walked though the one place I never wanted to return to, Amber acted as though this was a real treat. Sure…maybe to her, but not to me.

Finally after trudging though a forest, and a city, for about 3 hours, we arrived. The building called the mall loomed out of the darkness that was settling around the world. It was just as I remembered it.

Soon, Amber and I arrived inside, and I was hit with a sense of sadness, when I saw my old friends. They all greeted me enthusiastically; their smiling faces hitting me like a ton of bricks. The only one that didn't greet me like this, which I wasn't surprised about, was Lex. He hung back in the back round, his raven black hair covering half his face as he looked at me, watching me walk past everyone.

The black trench coat he was wearing sent chills down my spine just by looking at him. He looked unusually pail, and tired. Run down even. But I didn't dwell on it too long, because Amber was steering me to the direction of her room to greet Bray.

Bray lay on his bed. Next to him was a sleeping baby Bray, who looked so peaceful when we walked in.

His mane of brown hair was styled down, with a little braid going down his fair face, and it looked as though Bray had tried to get his little son into footie pajamas.

Bray didn't notice our entrance right away. He just kept watching his son sleep, almost as though it was the most wonderful thing in the world. And maybe it was to Bray, never seeing his son for 2 years of his young life.

Today Bray sported his hair cut closely to his head, very clean. He was wearing a leather jacket, and a pair of leather pants, and looked very much the same except more tired.

"Had no trouble with your son?" Amber said, breaking the silence  
I jumped. I had forgotten she was there.

Bray looked up and grinned. "No problems. Amber our son is a complete angel! Then again how could he be any different? Your his mother." Bray got up, and hugged Amber tightly, and the two of them met in a few kisses.

After a while, I realized trying to get Bray's attention now was near impossible. So I left them, so they could be alone and I could meet Bray later, and wandered off to my old room.

It was left untouched from last time I was here. The bed I used was still there, so I flopped onto it, and breathed in deeply.

I was really back.

Slowly I slipped into a dreamless sleep, which I long needed, after Amber and my long trek back to the mall. When I woke, it was very dark outside, and the first stars were starting to appear. I stared out my window for a while, and then finally I managed to sit up, and put my feet on the floor. Why was I back? Bray apparently didn't care, and I missed Brady. I considered going back, but in the end, I knew I couldn't until morning.  
By then I was getting very hungry, so I looked though my closet and put on the nicest jacket I had, then walked out of my room.

The mall was silence, which was unusual, none of the kids running about. I slowly walked in the shadows not really wanting to meet anyone. Finally, I reached the cafe, and slowly slipped into a chair, putting my head into my hands and sighing.  
I was thinking about Brady. This was one of her first nights without me there for a long time. Was she afraid? Did she want me? I was so lost in these thoughts; it took me a while to realize Lex was watching me.

I looked at him in surprise when I finally spotted him. He was standing in the shadows, his black hair covering his eyes, his face toward me. When he realized I had spotted him, he seemed to panic, but as casually as ever I said aloud,  
"What are you doing Lex?"

Lex sighed and stepped forward, and raked his fingers though his hair.

"I'm deciding what to eat. I haven't eaten all day." Lex paused, and sat down in a chair across from me. "What are you doing here?"

He looked almost comical, his head resting on the palm of his hands, his elbows resting on the table. He was grinning. Why? Honestly he didn't seem happy to see me at all.

"I'm here for the same reason you are, I suppose." I looked away from him. His dark eyes were following me. I wished he would stop. "Want me to fix you something?"

"What and get sick off rat again?" Lex laughed a hollow sounding laugh. I shivered. He was never going to let that go was he?

"Oh hush up." I muttered as my come back. I didn't really feel like talking.

Lex got up, and walked over to me. "Ohh.. Touched a nerve did I?" Lex sighed, and laid his hands on my shoulders. "You need to lighten up Trud! Honestly. You're always so tense."

I looked away from him coldly. "I have reasons to be. As you use to put it, the "little brat" and me don't belong here. That can cause a lot of tension."

"Aw come on Trudy, that was ages ago!" Lex started to massage my shoulders slowly. He bent down and whispered into my ear, "Let ol' Lex take all the badness away."

"Don't touch me." I replied sternly. I slapped his face and glared at him.

Something must have snapped in him because before I knew it, He had picked me up and pined me to the wall.

"Now you listen to me Trudy. I could have you thrown out of here in a heartbeat, with every bone in your body broken if I wanted to. I'm capable of doing anything after a bottle of vodka. So you better be a nice little girl. And I might let you leave here and go to your little Eco tribe in one piece." He squeezed my arms and grinned like a maniac.

I cried out. His breath smelled of vodka with a mix of tobacco he must have been smoking too. No wonder he looked so horrible when I first arrived. "Let me go Lex!" I squeaked out. My arms were starting to hurt really bad now.

Lex surveyed me quietly, and I knew he was drinking in every inch of me. "I'm not letting go of you." He said softly. "In fact I don't think I'm going to let you get very far from me tonight. Not for a while."

I started to scream then. Really, really loud! But I was shocked when Lex started to laugh.

"No ones in the mall! They're all at a tribal gathering! Lucky for us it lasts till morning, so that leaves the mall for you and me." Lex grinned wickedly.

"A tribal gathering? Why wasn't I told?" I looked up at him fearfully, and confused.

"You were asleep. Bray told me to tell you." Lex frowned a little, and looked me over again. "But your not going to sleep much tonight oh no. Not on my watch." Lex then pulled me into a lip-crushing kiss.

**A/N: More coming soon. Review please!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Shout outs:**

**auto-meiser: Thank you very much. I hope you don't think Lex is too evil in this chapter though…**

**PrideXxXxX: Yay new reader! Hope you enjoy the new chapter.**

**Warnings: This chapter is… Erm violent. You'll have to read it to see what I mean but its one of the reasons this story is rated R. That's pretty much all I can say without giving much away.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Tribe. Only thing I own in this story is the new characters I invented and locations I have invented. **

Chapter 2

I pushed him away the best I could. He was strong though, so I only managed to kick his leg, and get his hands off my arm for about a second. The more I struggled, the more tightly he kept his hold on me. Finally he pulled his mouth away from mine and started to roughly bite my neck. It hurt so much tears started to form in my eyes.

"Lex" I said though a sob. "Stop your hurting me! Please let me go"

Lex stopped for a second and stared at me, his eyes big and round, but as hard as stone. A small growl escaped his lips and he raised his left hand.

"Do not speak unless I have spoken first, starting now."

"But Lex..." I sobbed on, unable to finish my sentence.

"Do you understand me" Lex snarled when I was silent. "Do you" He returned his hand to my already starting to bruise arm, and waited.

"Yes." I managed to choke out as two tears slipped from my eyes.

"Say it like you mean it." Lex snarled. He raised his hand again, and slapped it hard against the side of my face.

The place where he struck throbbed with pain, as he replaced his hand back on my arm, and I looked back at him.

"Yes, I understand, Lex." I said as clearly as I could. Finally I looked away after a agonizing moment of quiet.

"Good I'm glad you understand. Now come with me." Lex finally let go, and turned to walk away.

"Come where? I'm not going anywhere with you." I regretted saying that.

"You will come." Lex turned around again and stared. "Or else."

"Or else what" I had to challenge Lex. I was not going to stand for this not no way not no how. It was crazy! Lex had no right. While I was still able to stand, I was going to fight him off!

"Or else my darling Trudy" Lex growled, as he walked to me again. "I will make you understand the meaning of pain." He grabbed my arm, and pulled me forcefully. I collided with him, and yelled out in anguish.

"You won't get away with this." I said. I felt like I was in a Scooby Doo cartoon. Always the good guys would say, 'You won't get away with this.' and the villain always replied just as Lex did.

"I already am getting away with this Trudy. There is too much I could do to you if you did squeal. You know Brady? I could kill her if I wanted to."

I stared at Lex. He was being serious. I thought of little Brady, Her eyes wide in fear just before... I bit back a scream and managed to look Lex in the eye. "You wouldn't dare. You couldn't anyway. You don't even know were the Eco's are"

"Oh so… Your saying, I couldn't find a big tribe like the Eco's even if I tried? Or, I couldn't follow someone there" Lex grinned. "I could find your tribe easily."

I almost couldn't resist the urge to laugh at his stupidity. "Wow Lex your not very smart are you? The Eco's are spread out! And we're all way too camouflaged to find any of us. At any rate, how good at following are you? Imagine trying to follow Pride! God rest his soul. You couldn't do that. And we all have the same training."

Lex looked puzzled for a second then angry, because I made him look stupid. Finally he decided to pull me forcefully behind him as he walked to his room. On the way he cursed under his breath angrily, and muttered something about him being able to make me a crying mess by the end of the night.

I managed to keep up, though I was trying to pull away so I could run away. I should have never come back. I wanted Brady. I wanted to be safe in the main part of the Eco's set up. I wanted to be eating supper while chatting happily with Owl... While little Praying Mantis ran around starting a round of singing. That was my favorite time of the day. Everyone in the main camp sipping his or her tea, singing. It let me know I was safe.

Lex reached his room and ripped the door open, and threw me inside. When he stepped inside himself, he slammed his door shut, making everything in his room shake. I watched a bottle fall off a shelf and shatter into thousand of pieces.

Lex grabbed me again and pushed me onto his bed, where he got on me and sat on my stomach. He dug his knees into my sides and started to unzip his pants.

"Lex" I cried as a final plea. "Don't do this don't" I tried to move; roll away; anything but I was frozen. Partly because of fear and partly because of how strong Lex was.

He ignored me, and pulled off my coat forcefully, He stared at me with his piercing eyes and started to unbutton my shirt.

I tried to pull my hands out from his legs but it wasn't working. I was starting to lose feeling in them and without realizing it I was beginning to cry.

Lex saw this and didn't care. He pulled my shirt down to my elbows on each side of me and lifted my bra up. He ran his hands around my chest, closing his eyes.

I did everything I could not to show I was scared, especially when I saw that Lex seemed to be getting more aroused the more he roamed.

Finally he stopped, and he moved himself down so his hips were aligned with mine. I was able to slip my arms out now, and I tried to push him, but he caught my hands by the wrists.

"Don't even think about it." He muttered, eyes half closed. He my hands and bit down on each of them hard.

I screamed out. Blood started to drip from where he bit, and it also stung.

Lex took no notice of this and unzipped my pants right away. He pulled them and my underwear down and started taking off his own. He got up a bit and forcefully pulled my legs away from each other. I tried to keep them closed but he used both his hands to open them. Quickly he shoved his hard on inside me, making me scream in pain. Pretty soon I was screaming non-stop, while trying to claw at Lex's arms.

He laid on me then, pinning my arms down with his hands.

"Be good Trudy, and shut up." Lex said angrily.

"No" I screamed, and then I kept screaming No until Lex forced his mouth on mine, prying his tongue into my mouth and running it over my own tongue.

I kept screaming into his mouth though, as he started thrusting into me, fast and hard, each bringing a new wave of pain over me.

Lex did this, until he started to moan, and I could feel him shuddering over me. He climaxed, and breathing hard, he pulled out of me, and bit hard on my neck. Marking me... Marking all the pain I would endure in the future.

The minute he got off of me and started walking to his door, I curled into a small ball, trying to pull my clothes back on.

"If I were you, I'd go home, tonight. Unless you want another taste of what Lexy can do." Lex then turned to his door, opened it, and left, without another word.

Left alone in the room I got up, and started to pull on my clothes properly. I felt so… Violated? No not strong enough… There were no words for how I felt. Nothing seemed real. That couldn't have just happened. It couldn't! I sobbed out in pain from my throbbing hands, and walked slowly to the door.

That was my second time to have a guy inside me. And the first one was Zoot. Martian then… But either way he was Zoot. But even Zoot, who was a power and chaos crazy hadn't hurt me so much. And he hadn't hurt my dignity.

Sobbing as I walked to my room to grab a coat, I worried about what was going to happen now. Should I tell anyone? Would I get pregnant? I didn't think I'd get pregnant with Brady… But looked what happened after one time! Would it be like it was when Brady was born, again? I nearly died that time. These thoughts kept me from realizing I had put on a coat and wandered into the sewers.

I noticed where I was when I saw the moon shining out of the manhole cover above. It seemed like so long ago I screamed down it for Brady, when I watched helplessly as Luke took her away.

Still crying a little, I gripped the latter in front of me, trying to ignore the pain from the bite marks in my hands. My entire mind on was now, was getting home to the Eco's and hugging Brady close. 'I'm never going to leave her again.' I decided mentally.

Finally I lifted the manhole cover and moved it over, and climbed out into the clear, cold night. I ran then. Ran as fast as possible. And didn't once look back.


	4. Chapter 3

**auto-meiser: I'm glad you like . Thanks for sticking with me. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 3

I ran for a long time before I even bothered to think of which way I was going. My hands were beginning to numb, so I was able to take the pain. When I finally did stop, I realized I was in the woods, and actually was only a little ways from where the main Eco camp was.

I shivered. I hadn't realized till now how cold it was outside. The paper thin jacket I wore was nothing compared to the cold and all I wanted at that moment was to curl up under the blankets of my bed, and stare over at my little daughter sleeping in her little bed curled up, safe and happy.

I yawned and stared at the moon. So big... To me for some reason it seemed to be looking down at me worried. I almost wanted to scream for it to help, but I knew that would be silly. The moon couldn't do anything but watch. Then again, it couldn't even do that... But it still gave me comfort to think of the moon watching me as I walked along to camp.

It was a half hour later when I arrived. The dyeing campfire greeted me mournfully as a welcoming source of heat. I walked quickly over to the slowly losing life embers and sat down on a log that had been placed there for when the main part of the tribe, that didn't want to be isolated into little groups like the others, would sit and enjoy story telling and eating, and singing by night.

I looked beside me and spotted a pile of firewood put into a pile. I grabbed one of the pieces and put it on the hot embers. After a while the wood started crackling and a small blaze had started. I smiled for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, and added another log. Soon I had a pretty good blaze going. The warmth coming off the fire engulfed me, and I sat for a long time staring at the jumping sparks of the fire.

Finally, I was able to reflect over what had just happened, without feeling panic of wanting to get away.

So Lex was just as he always was. A dog. But… But... It wasn't his entire fault was it? I could have fought harder couldn't I? No... No... I mustn't think that... It was his fault... I'm weak. Well I'm not that weak...

These confusing thoughts lasted for a while. I finally decided, that I could have fought harder, but I shouldn't have had to fight him off in the first place.

This wasn't the least bit helpful, because it still happened, and I couldn't change it anymore then I could change how Brady was conceived. At the thought of conceiving, I thought about how Lex had not used protection. What if I did become pregnant? What would that child's life be like? Would there be a lot of pain? Would I even want to accept it as mine? Would Brady be jealous?

The odds I was pregnant were slim, but still there. And it was scary to think about. I kept thinking of a mutated baby with horns in a tail. Though I knew in the back of my mind that wasn't possible. I thought of that when I was pregnant with Brady and saw Zoot running around screaming "Power and Chaos" too, and now Brady was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And I was so proud of her.

I decided I should put the subject about being pregnant aside. If I was, I was, and I wouldn't deal with it until I had to.

I picked up a near by stick then and poked the fire a few times, and tossed it in. Mentally I told myself, I'd worry about all of this stuff and the rape Lex had committed, in the morning, and for now I would go to bed, and get the sleep I desperately needed.

I got up, and walked past the quiet and calm huts around me, and ended up at the one closest to where Amber lived. This was my home. The leafy roof jutted out in odd places over the straw base of it. In the dark, I could see the door was shut.

I walked over to the door, which was made out of sticks, and opened it carefully. I knew Brady wouldn't be inside; rather she'd be sleeping at Fawn's house, because that was who was watching her. But it still made my heart ach to see Brady's small empty bed, neatly made, just as I had left it that morning.

I sighed and walked over to my bed and plopped down onto it. I put my hands over my eyes, and cried a little, each tear representing my anger and pain. Why did it have to be me? Just because I went back to the mall. I knew I should have never gone back. It was the worst mistake I could ever make. As my tears fell, my pain surrounding my heart worsened.

Finally I got up, pulled back the covers, laid down, and covered myself up. My eyes fell heavily and finally I drifted to sleep, and to my first of many disturbing and scary dreams.

**_I opened my eyes and found myself in a darkly lit corridor. I couldn't see two feet before me, and it seemed the blackness never ended. The size of my stomach told me I was heavily pregnant, and that it would be imposable to get up and walk. I did manage to crawl, with great effort. My overly large belly made sliding myself across the cold linoleum floor nearly imposable, until I managed to get myself sliding. I realized I was wearing a brown cotton dress, that almost looked like rags, and that the bottom of it was cut very oddly. _**

_**It vaguely reminded me of what I wore when I was pregnant with Brady, but I didn't dwell on it long when I heard a violent scream. It was coming from the direction I was heading, so I struggled to go faster. I started to cough, and stared down in horror when I saw blood dripping down on the floor, and realized it was coming from my mouth. I coughed again and a large puddle of blood splat on the floor. I tried to ignore it, and kept going, blood dripping down the corners of my mouth. I heard the violent scream again, and struggled to crawl faster. Finally I saw a source of light, and thought of nothing but getting to the light. **_

_**Soon, I was crawling very fast, and I became engulfed in the light source. The first thing I saw was that I was in the cafe of the mall. Lex stood by the balcony; his raven hair dangling over his face like it usually was, hiding what everyone wanted to see. **_

_**"Lex" I called out weakly. "Please help me Lex." Lex ignored me, and reached behind him, to pick up something I saw laying in a small pool of blood on the floor. He picked it up by its leg, and stared at it for a moment. And within that moment, I recognized what it was. It was Brady! My baby! **_

_**"Lex! No" I screamed out. Still he ignored me, and dangled the lifeless heap of my daughter over the balcony. Slowly each of his fingers slipped from my daughter's leg and before I knew it... She was falling. Faster and faster, until I hear a sickening smack. I screamed loudly, and this time Lex looked at the pregnant heap of useless flesh I was. But instead of his face, I saw a bony outline of it. Blood ran from his eyes, and dripped onto the floor in long thick streams. "Nooooooooo"**_

I sat upright in my bed breathing hard. The horribleness of the dream still swept over me as I gazed out my window. It was still dark. The mental image of Lex's face stayed in my mind as I got up and walked over to my window and stared outside. A mournful strong wind blew outside, making me shudder. My life was going to be plagued forever now wasn't it? I put my hands on my stomach and kept staring outside. I had a feeling it would.


	5. Chapter 4

**auto-meiser: Thanks for reading! I'll post another chapter tomorrow for you.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything… o.O**

Chapter 4

After I stared out of the window for the longest time, I finally managed to get a little sleep. But not enough. When I woke up, I was the only one awake. So, I rummaged though my clothes trunk and put on some layers, and went outside into the cold morning air.

Birds tweeted loudly, making me wonder how I slept at all, and my whole body ached. I walked slowly over to Fawn's hut, which she shared with Spirit and Bear.

Fawn's hut was more decorated then mine, as it was surrounded with flowers, and vines crept up the face of it. To me it looked welcoming, and safe, so that must have been why Brady loved being there so much.

As quietly as possible, I opened the floor and tipped toed in.

There were three beds inside. On one lay a large boy, only about 10, who was wearing a brown over coat and buckskin pants. His work boots were still on, suggesting he retired late last night after a long trek. He was snoring softly, and his arm dangled over the side of his bed.

The bed next to it held Fawn and Sprit. They were tangled together, with sheets and blankets rapped tightly around them. Fawn's fair pinkish baby face was covered with her sheet of black hair, and her arms were clutching Sprit tightly. She had a slight smile playing on her face, while she clutched her friend.

Spirit was also clutching the 17 year old by her side. Her mahogany hair draped over her pillow, and a little stream of drool was falling from her mouth.

And next to that, in the last and littlest bed, lay Brady. Her little eyes were closed tightly, and she was clutching her bunny tightly.

I walked over to her and ran my hand over her rosy and healthy cheek. Slowly her eyes fluttered open slowly and she smiled in delight when she saw me.

"Mama! Mama! Your back Mama" She exclaimed happily. Quickly she sat up, staring at me with her big big eyes.

"Yes, I'm back sweetie." I said quietly, trying to hold back tears that threatened to come. "Mommy's just about to take a little walk. Do you want to come"

Brady looked at me, her eyes smiling along with her face. "Yes Mama, I want to come."

Quickly she slipped out of bed, still fully clothed, and grabbed my hand tightly.  
Brady and I quickly walked out of the hut, and walked over to the dead fire pit in the middle of camp.

"I'm hungry." Brady muttered. But quickly her hunger was forgotten when she spotted a large purple butterfly fluttering in a patch of grass near by. She ran to it, and began to frolic, chasing the butterfly.

I sighed and watched her innocents. It almost made me feel that yesterday had just been a nightmare and nothing more. For when I was back here, I was safe.

Brady kept running around in circles, and it distracted me from everything else, until I heard a loud rustling coming from behind me.

Quickly I grabbed onto Brady and clutched her, staring at where the rustling had came from. Lex hadn't followed me there had he? Oh that would be awful! He would destroy the one last place I had to feel safe! What would I do then? What would I...

The rustling stopped and I took a deep breath and let my daughter down. It was probably just a squirrel or something. Wow. I was a nervous wreck! I sighed and held my head. Would I ever recover from this?

Brady had gone back to frolicking, and I just watched, growing more and more interested with an idea to run away. But I thought about leaving my home and it made me want to die. Brady was safe here. Did I really want to leave all of this?

I didn't have much time to think. Moments later, Fawn walked out of her hut looking worried and sick. "Brady? Brady where are you" She called out, staring around quickly.

Right away I called out, so she wouldn't worry. She didn't need to be worried right now. That was my job.

"She's over here Fawn." I called out.

A look of relief came upon her face and she raced over to me. "Trudy your back" She exclaimed, flinging her arms around my neck." We thought you weren't coming back for a week"

I lightly hugged her back and forced a smile on my face. "Change of plans. Just couldn't stay away from my darling that long. " I looked over at Brady who was rolling around in a patch of mud.

"Oh, I don't blame you! She's a absolute angel" Fawn beamed, and walked over to Brady, pulling her out of the mud and trying to get it off her face. "This is great now you can take your turn of telling a story at the fire tonight."

I stared at her, and then looked at my feet quickly. "Actually I was thinking of leaving."

Fawn's eyes grew huge and her mouth opened agape. "But you love it here! And so does Brady why would you want to leave"

I thought hard about that. I already concluded I didn't want to leave so why was I saying this? After a while I started to speak again and it don't even seem like I was speaking what I said.

"I want to.. Maybe go to one of the smaller groups for a while. I need some quiet time. Brady will be fine with me, and we'll come back some day."

"But you can't leave." Fawn whimpered. "I'll miss you too much.

I sighed and took Brady from her, who was giggling. I put Brady down and told her to go to my hut and pack her suite case, and looked at Fawn.

"The truth is, I think I'm pregnant." I let a slow breath out. That was what had been on my mind for a while now, and now that I said it, I felt even more terrified.

Fawn's mouth formed an O of surprise. "But who would be the dad.."

I considered telling her really I did. But I just couldn't. "Please don't ask me right now. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"Oh.. Alright.." Fawn looked a little disappointed. "Well I guess I'll see you again some time."

I watched Fawn walking away and felt remorse for her. She really liked Brady and I. I hated to leave her but it was for the best.

I walked to my hut and went inside, helped Brady gather her things, and collected my own, and started yet another journey… A journey to… Well I wasn't quite sure yet to what, but it was a journey I felt I had to take.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

Chapter 5

I take a lot of journeys. And it seems, no matter what I do something bad happens in them, as you can see. I was hoping that this was going to be an exception to that, because I wasn't even going to head to another place where my tribe lived. I was going to try to head to another city. One very far away. Somewhere safe I could stay and forget, with Brady.

Brady clutched my hand as we walked, chattering with her imaginary friend, and staring at all the wilderness around. Happiness seemed to flow off her, and she made even me smile.

We walked though the closet clearing past camp, and soon we were walking in raw wilderness. Most of this forest and streams. This place had the best cover I had ever seen anywhere, and that was mostly why the Eco's chose it as their home. And also it was a safe distance from the city. If you were in the right mood the forest was very pretty.

The farther Brady and I walked the more tired and hungry I became. My backpack started to weigh down on me, and Brady seemed to be getting tired. I strained my ears, and heard running water close. I realized we must have walked a long away because we were near River Wottle. Brady had named it when we found the river 2 years ago. I grinned and picked up Brady, and carried her toward the direction of the river.

"Do you know where we are?" I asked Brady, smiling at her as we approached the river.

"River Wottle!" Brady giggled. "Put me down please."

I did just that, and laughed as Brady went right over to the water and splashed it.

"OOOOhhh cold!" She exclaimed. Quickly she walked back over to me and sat on the ground. "Mommy, I'm thirsty. I want some Wottle water."

I grinned and took a water bottle out of my nap sack. I handed the bottle to Brady and she toddled to the river squealing as the water splashed into it.

After a while I spoke. "Brady, I want to take a nap. Want to take one with me?"

Brady nodded and closed the water bottle and crawled over to me.

For a 6 year old Brady was pretty smart and I knew it was safe to take naps around her cause she wouldn't wander too far.

I lay down, and put my arms around Brady when she lay down too, and I kissed her forehead.

Slowly both of us drifted off to sleep.

I was back in dream world before long. I started dreaming I was carrying my nap sack over to the river, and dunking it really deep into the water and holding it there. I slipped back to reality when I felt two strong arms pull me back, and a voice yell,

"Trudy! What are you doing?" I was being shook roughly now. I finally came to my senses and saw Amber's face in front of me. She was shaking me violently and staring.

When she was sure I was back, she went running over to the river, which I was right next to.

Brady lay on the ground, Her face was white, and her lips had a blue tinge to them. Her eyes were closed, and her neck had purple bruises in the shape of fingers.

I screamed. Loud enough so mars could hear me! I started to sob as Amber started to give her mouth to mouth, and pushed on her chest gently in a desperate attempt to revive her. But she was.. She was...

Amber put her ear to Brady's chest and let out a choked sob. "She's dead Trudy."

I cried out. "No! This is a dream! Brady's safe by my side! I KNOW SHE IS!" I started to hysterically pinch myself. When that did nothing I started waving my arms around "Wake up!" I screamed. "WAKE UP."

Amber shook her head, and cradled up Brady. She walked over to be and grabbed my arm and walked the direction of camp.

"Come on Trudy.. Lets get you home..." Amber sighed sadly.

I tried to fight her off. "NO! I HAVE TO WAKE UP! BRADY WILL WORRY ABOUT ME!"

"Trudy stop!" Amber slapped the same cheek Lex had slapped the other night. "Come to your senses!"

I screamed again and then started hyperventilating. "Bra.. Brady?" I said quietly, touching my daughter's cold cheek. "Wha-What happened?"

"We'll worry about that later Trudy. Please we have to go back to camp." Amber's eyes showed so much worry.

I nodded my head, and by extinct I put my hands on my stomach. I.. Strangled my daughter, I realized that. In my sleep, I had strangled MY daughter. Who was I? What was happening? This couldn't be real.. Could it? My head spun with questions as I did my best not to look at Amber or the lifeless limp daughter of mine she was holding.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Yup… still don't own anything hehe.**

Chapter 6

After a while I couldn't tell reality from hallucinating. I knew Amber was there yes, but if Brady was dead or not, I was not sure. Sometimes when I looked at Amber she was holding Brady, limp as ever, And sometimes she was just holding my nap sack, and I saw Brady skipping merrily beside me. After a while, I just closed my eyes for a long time, and didn't open them, till I tripped over a tree root.

And to my horror, hovering above me was a dark shadow, holding gleaming white bones. It was laughing. A high cruel laugh that made me shutter. The figure stepped closer, and Lex's hooded face stared at me, laughing louder.

"You'll never get rid of me Trudy." He said proudly. "I'm in your skin. I'm in the very air you breath; a part of myself is growing inside you right now. And all the while, there is nothing your pretty head can do about it!"

"You don't have a hold on me!" I screamed, and closed my eyes. To my surprise, and shock, Lex was gone when I opened them. It was such a surprise to me, I fainted.

-

"Mommy?" Little hands poked my cheek lightly, and opened one of my eyes, and stared at me. "Mommy.. Its time to wake uuuupppp! MOMMMY!"

"Brady! Leave her alone! She needs her rest. Don't you see the lump on her head?"

Amber's voice... Where was I?

I sat up quickly and stared wide eyed around me. A rush of pain came to my head, but right away I could tell I was in Amber's bed, in her hut.

"Whoa! Trudy!" Amber loomed in front of me, and she shoved me down, so I was lying. "Your injured be careful."

Brady's little eyes stared at me from afar, and she smiled broadly. "I knew I could fix you!"

Amber smiled and laughed. "Yes you did good fixing mommy. Please go tell Fawn she's awake?"

Brady nodded happily and took off.

I stared at Amber. So.. Brady.. Wasn't dead? I was relived in a way, yet I was so confused, If only my head would stop feeling like horse's had trampled it over..."What happened?" I asked shakily after a while.

"I.. Don't really know." She began, sitting down on my bed. "You.. Were sort of zombie like when I found you and Brady. I had ran after you when we came back from the tribal meeting and found you had gone, Baby Bray is with his father. I'm lucky I found you when I did.. It looked like.. You were trying to drown yourself."

Wow.. Was I really that crazy? Should I tell Amber what happened? "Where was Brady this whole time?"

Amber sighed. "Thankfully, she was asleep. I had to carry her home most of the way."  
Well... That would explain my warped mind thinking she was dead.. I worried. I really needed mental health! I was not safe around my daughter!

"Trudy.. Why did you leave the mall? Lex said you went off on a crazy rampage because you missed Brady. I didn't listen to him. He was wrong. I could tell. It's not like you to up and leave." Amber stared at me wide eyed, and grabbed my hand and held it tight.

Before I could even control myself, I poured into complete detail about my night with Lex. The farther I got, the more wide-eyed Amber became. Soon it seemed her eyes would pop out of her head! She cried out at the right moments, hugged me when she felt she had to, and soon she had me crying on her shoulder when I finished up.

"And the worse part thing is, I think I'm pregnant." I let out a hard sob and Amber clutched me.

"There there." She said softly, patting my hair.

"That's why I want to leave. To find myself, and try to accept my child on the way. But.. I can't bring Brady." I stared at Amber with tears in my eyes. "Please, understand.. And make sure Brady is safe here?"

Amber nodded, reassuringly. "I understand what you wish to do.. Brady will be safe with Fawn. I promise. Take as much time as you need."

I sighed, and snuggled close to Amber. "I don't know where I should go."

Amber closed her eyes and whispered, "Go to Bane City. Trust me. Ask for a Fran. She'll help you."

"Bane City.. Fran." I repeated softly. "Are you sure I'll be able to find it?"

"Go out of the forest northeast, and then walk west for about 5 days. You'll end up there. You'll know by the sign." Amber grinned a little.

At that moment, Fawn walked in with Brady, who she had dressed up just for me.

"Mommy, Can I have a hug?" Brady said hopefully as she walked to the bed Amber and me were in.

Of course I gave her a hug. A long one. I didn't want to let go either. I was so thankful my daughter was alive.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: If I owned anything, you'd know it by now! Hehe.**

Chapter 7

It took me a while to get better. My hallucinations got worse, however. But they came in attacks. One minute I could be talking quietly to Fawn or Amber (Brady was told to only visit me once in a while so I could get better), and the next minute I could be screaming at whoever was in the room, and I would be told hours later, I was screaming about Lex, and had said 'The twins are coming!' Over and over. What that meant I did not know. But it worried me. Amber was with me most of the time, and if I was having a fit, I could always see her blurry outline over me, and feel a cold cloth pressing against my forehead. It was about two weeks until I could sleep a whole night without waking from a nightmare.

It was my nightmares that disturbed me most of all. Many of times they were full of blood, and seemed so real I thought I wasn't dreaming. Lex was a frequent visitor in these dreams. The most common ones were simple. Lex would be holding a blood soaked newborn, blood dripping from his eyes... He would always look at me... In a way that shot pain and hurt though my soul. And when ever I reached out to him and the blood soaked child, he would always drop it, and claw at his arms, making more blood spill.  
I told Amber about these blood soaked dreams. And it didn't worry her until the night I woke up coughing blood screaming about Monsters inside of me. And no matter what She said, I would not stop screaming about the two monsters that were ripping at me from the inside.

All this blood really scared me. And also the lack of blood. I was sure I was pregnant now. My period was a week late. And I wanted to eat more.

By the third week, I knew I just had to go before memories of what happened drove me even madder then I was.

The day I was to leave the Eco camp was dark and dreary. Lighting flashed though the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance, making me jump every time I heard it.  
Amber was white faced as I paced though my room, making sure everything I wanted in my pack was there.

She was wearing a black hoodie, very UnAmber like. She kept wringing her hands nervously, looking out the window every time there was a flash, and listening to the rain as it pelted down on the roof of my hut.

Brady was walking about the hut wearing a pink raincoat that made her look so sweet that I hated to leave.

Myself, I was dressed for traveling. I wore black jeans, a dark red sweater, and over that I wore a green jacket with a huge hood that would flop over my eyes if I put it on.

Amber jumped about a foot in the air when a loud boom sounded, and Brady clapped her hands happily.

"Must you go today Trudy?" Amber said shakily, staring at Brady, and then at me.

"Yes I must. I need to get to Bane City soon. Before I'm too pregnant to travel." I looked at Brady. I had no worry to think she was listening. She was too happy chirping away as she told Mr. Teddy things only she understood.

I loved her so. She looked so beautiful with her golden blond hair flowing down her back, and the pretty clothes she loved to wear.

Brady didn't think I was leavening.. Not yet. I didn't know how to tell her I was going somewhere without her for a long time.

After about 10 more minutes, I shouldered my pack, and began to nibble on an apple. Brady looked at me and smiled wide.

"Are we going on a walk, Mommy?" She said sweetly, grabbing her water shoes. "When are we going?"

I nearly cried to hear her say such things. She wasn't going to understand. She was going to try to come as well.

I went over to her and knelt to her level, and put the best smile on my face I could.

"Mommy's going away again Brady. Just like when I went to the mall to see uncle Bray."

"Oh then you won't be long then! I remember you came back fast. I'm good at rememembering!" Brady stared cross eyed at her nose and giggled.

I laughed a little and hugged her. "I'm going to be gone a little longer then last time sweetie." I stroked her hair and looked at Amber. "But Auntie Amber and Fawn are going to look after you. And so is everyone else in the tribe."

"Aww, But Mama, I'll miss you terribly!" Brady wined a little and frowned.

"I'll come back as soon as I can I promise Brady." I wanted to sob out. I wasn't going to be back for almost a year, but I couldn't tell this little angel that.

"Oh.. Alright." Brady yawned and stretched. "Will you sing me to sleep one last time? I want to take a nap."

Brady got up and hobbled over to her little bed and lay down, messing the covers on purpose so I would have to cover her.

After I made sure she was conferrable, I sang a soft song that I had made up for her, to comfort her when she was little and was scared of the loud booms of thunder that we got when there were really big storms.

_The cries of the winds _

_  
The sound of the storm_

_  
Don't fret little one for all is norm._

_  
All of the scariness _

_  
All of the darkness_

_  
All of the rain_

_  
Will be gone again_

_  
As quick as it came. _

My darling my darling

_  
So quiet and meek_

_  
Listen to this and do not fret in your sleep._

_  
I'll love you forever and always_

_  
You know I will. _

_  
All you have to do is love me too._

I sang these verses over and over until Brady's eyes started to droop, and soon she was fast asleep in her happy little dreams.

I sighed and got up and walked over to Amber who had fat tears in her eyes.

"She'll miss you." She said thickly, hugging me close. "I'll miss you too. Please be careful out there. You're still not well.. All these nightmares your having.. And hallucinations! Must you go now?"

"Yes I must. You know that." I looked out the windows of the quiet hut, and saw lighting streak across the black sky. "I am not well like you say. I can't let Brady suffer the hurt of having a half crazy mother about."

Amber nodded after a while and opened the door to my hut and went outside.

I followed her, and shut the hut for one final time for a long time, and stared out at the camp.

The dead fire smoked; the huts looked gloomy in the rain... And the wind whipped though the trees hitting my face.

"I guess it will be pretty different then here in Bane city." I said barely above a whisper.

"It's a beautiful city though.. Wonderful place to have your child if you keep it..." Amber sighed. She knew in her heart I would have to keep the child. I could never kill it.

I looked at Amber and smiled a real smile. "Amber, I'll never forget you."

"I'll never forget you either. And we'll take very good care of Brady. I might even take her to see her cousin baby Bray in the city so she can see her uncle." Amber half smiled.

"Alright… Well… I guess this is goodbye for now." I hugged Amber again, and raised my hood over my deeply dyed purple hair.

"Goodbye Trudy. And good luck." Amber hugged me back, and took a few steps away, as if trying to help me get started.

I adjusted my straps and looked around the camp one final time, and started walking forward.

I told Amber earlier that I was not to look back when I started walking. And I did just that. I kept my eyes forward, and kept the wind to my back, and started heading north East, to my new life in Bane city.


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything lol.**

Chapter 8

My traveling was pretty easy at the beginning. The thunderstorm didn't bother me at all; in fact, I barely noticed I was getting wet. Once in a while a great flash of lighting would streak though the sky lighting up the whole woods, making it look ghostly and forlorn. A loud boom of thunder that shook the ground beneath my feet usually followed these.

It was several more hours, until I forced myself to find a dry piece of land to sleep on. My legs were beginning to tire, and my eyes strained to see a foot in front of me.

The fierce wind pushed against my back, and I trudged though the ankle deep mud, shivering. I kept my sights on an old looking tree that was a few feet ahead. Its leaves hung low, looking like long arms ready to pull me in.

In the gnarled tree trunk was a large hole, large enough for me to climb into. Quickly I did, not taking account what might have been living in there, and I quickly curled up into a small little ball. The minute I closed my eyes, I drifted off to a light sleep, which I awoke from every time there was a loud boom of thunder.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of chirping birds, and a strong beam of sunlight hanging on my face. I yawned, and managed to sit up, even though I was very achy.

I found that the hole I decided to crash in the night before was dirty, and there were ants crawling all over it. I didn't really care though. I got up after a few minutes, and pulled my back pack off of my back, and started looking though it.

I screamed when I saw a huge spider crawling over my wrapped piece of bread, and I pulled it out, holding it between my pointer finger and thumb.

I watched it struggle about, trying to get out of my grip, not wanting to die. After a moment I sighed and placed it on the ground, and looked back into my pack.

I let out a low moan then. Everything in my pack was wet. Everything. There was no way I could eat any of it. All that food had to last 4 days too.

So, I dug though my pack, and stuck a long hunting knife that was inside into my belt, took out my canteen of water, and I threw the bag itself angrily at the tree I had been sleeping in the night before. I cried a little then, and began walking.

The woods were quiet, and the sun filtered though the trees like angel hair. But it was hard for me to enjoy this beauty, because of my hunger.

After a while I found a small stream. Its bubbling water met my ears a distance away, and a little faith rose in my heart. Where there were streams, there were fish.

Just my luck though, even though I stood waiting for about 2 hours, no fish swam by. I threw a rock in it, and began walking again. I couldn't waste anymore time. I had to arrive in Bane city in 4 days or I knew I'd just die out here.

This went on for the next 2 days, and it was the 4th day, that showed all of it was worth something.

By the 4th day, I had figured out how to ignore my hunger, and had been living off water. When I had last looked in a stream, I had seen my shallow eyes looking back at me, hidden behind the dark dirt that covered my face.

I was crawling along on a rough-cut path that day. I had heard rustling in the trees earlier, so I figured there must have been a small animal near by. And it was in a clearing I saw it. It was a rabbit. A small one of course, but I was desperate for food by then. Slowly I crept along the ground, holding my knife so it could not glint in the pale sunlight.

I was just about to stab the poor beast, when I realized where I was. Slowly I stood up, my mouth open, and my hands slipping from my knife.

I was standing on a cliff. That was above a low valley. And in that Valley was the hugest city I had ever seen.

From where I was I could see little people that looked like ants hurrying about. This had to be Bane city.

I fell on my knees; not noticing my knife had ripped my pants and caused a little tickle of blood to seep though the cut it started. I started to weep from happiness, and it took a while to realize I now had to figure out how to get down to the City.

When this dawned on me, I wildly looked around, and saw a small gap in some woods on the west side. What Amber said to me flashed into my mind. 'Go west for 5 days.'

I had almost not done that, so I was lucky to be where I was. I looked around for a sign. And soon enough I spotted a small one, almost not readable at the entrance of one side of the city. 'Welcome to Bane city. The most advanced City since the virus.'

Now I realized I only had two choices. Jump down this really high cliff, and land to my death, or some how find my way though a pathless patch of woods.

I sighed and picked up my hunting knife, and winced a little as I stood up. My only choice was to hope I didn't get lost.

I walked back into the woods, on the left hand side of me. I figured if I went into there and walked straight for a while and turned when it felt right, I should end up at the way out.

The ground sloped down here sharply, and I had a hard time getting though. The rocks were many here, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of leaves. The trees grew closer together here, too close. I turned the way I thought I had to go when night started to fall, and started to lose hope of ever getting out of there, when the moon started eerily filtering though the trees.

Soon it seemed all the trees were watching me, whispering about the odd intruder pushed past all the branches, bushes and underbrush. The moonlight made it look like they had eyes. And soon I was sure they were trying to trip me, because their roots kept getting in my way.

And then I started to get the feeling I was getting followed, from the low howls that kept erupting from nowhere, and the rustling of the leaves. I convinced myself it was the wind and tried to laugh it off, but soon I was running as fast as I could, tripping over and over again in fright. Finally I fell into a large pile of leaves and I could feel blood seeping down my forehead. I let tiredness over take me, and I fell into sleep, shivering though every time I heard a howl.


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Nope… don't own nada.**

**A/N: Aren't you lucky? You get two chapters today hehe.**

Chapter 9

When I awoke, it was early in the morning, and from the bits of sky I could see though the canopy of leaves above me, I could tell it was a very gray, cold, morning. My head ached if I moved it, and my cut leg was stiff. I shuddered when I thought about how I must of looked. With great difficulty I managed to get up, but I couldn't put too much pressure on my left leg. But I didn't care, because right when I stood up, though a gap between trees, I saw an obvious path.. But not only that. I saw people! Two of them. One was talking very fast to the other he was wearing a joker's hat and every time he moved his head the bells jangled. His eyes were round he sort of looked familiar. What he was saying was sort of blurred and he was using his hands a lot. When he stopped talking the girl he was with, who was a bit taller then him, was moving her hands fast, not talking at all. Her messy black hair swished this way and that as she signed, and they both erupted into a fit of the giggles.

I didn't think when I saw them. I just started to limp as fast as I possibly could toward them. When I got close, I ended up tripping and I tumbled out into the road.

Right away the girl stopped talking to the boy. She looked around 19. Her friend around 16. They both stared at me as though they had seen a ghost, and the girl threw her head back and screamed so loud I could of sworn if any glass was around it would have cracked.

I clamped my hands over my ears and screamed out "Stop please!"

At this the kid in the joker hat stared at me if possible even more wide eyed. "Trudy?" He muttered. What he said was in a surprised tone, but it was muffled, like he was forcing himself to say it.

I heard him say it, but I figured I was just imagining things. My head started to pound and I staggered a little.

"Listen.. I don't know who you are.." I was a little scared at how hoarse my voice sounded. "But I'm looking for.. For.." I gulped. My eyes were starting to mist over, and it was getting harder to stand. "I'm looking for Fran.."

And that's all I remembered. My whole world went black, and that was it.

-

I groaned and sat up. I had no idea where I was, but my eyes ached when I tried to see anything. Finally a fuzzy outline of someone staring at me came to me. She looked short, and no older then 8. She came into sharper view and I saw she had sandy blond hair that stuck up in the front and was in two stiff ponytails on the sides of her head. Her black eyes were opened wide and she seemed to be oddly curious about me. It was then I realized where I was.

I was in a large room, in a bed with white linen. There was about 12 other empty beds lined up on each side of me, and the windows were open wide to let the sunlight and breeze in.

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a white medical gown, and it looked as though someone had bandaged up my leg. My head was still woozy, but not as bad. I smiled slightly to the little girl watching me, and spoke softly so I didn't frighten her.

"Hello.." My voice didn't sound like mine.. It sounded tired.. And strained. "What's your name?"

The little girl stared at me, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. She bit her lip, and ran off without saying a word.

I sighed and laid back down. My head hurt too much to think of how I got there and things like that. I stared at the ceiling for a while and didn't turn my head until I saw a shadowy figure sulk in. I studied them and saw they were wearing a while lab coat, and were holding a silver scalpel in their hand. And their hair was black dread locks.. Just like...

"Lex!" The word squeaked out of my mouth and the figure turned toward me. And sure enough that's who it was.

He grinned ad held out the small knife he was holding, and started to talk low and harshly. "I'll save this for later. " He winked, and I screamed out, rubbing my eyes furiously. When I opened my eyes he was gone again.

For ten more minutes I lay alone.. And cold. But most of all, I was confused. After a while, a kind girl came in, about 18, and walked over to my bed. She had sandy blond hair just like the little girl had, but it was down, and she had a butterfly clip or two in it. She walked over to me, clutching a plastic clipboard. The papers on it fluttered up and down in the breeze coming from the windows.

"Oh good! You're awake... You've been out 2 days. You woke up barely once and a while and we were able to feed you a bit but I'm sure you won't remember that." The girl paused and sat down on the bed next to me. "My name is Sadey. I run the White Hospital here in Bane city. My little sister, Ariel, is the one that told me your awake."

"I'm in Bane city?" I said faintly, sitting up a little.

"Yes. And you seem to have friends here. A boy named Paul was here. He said your name was Trudy. Is this true?" Sadey sighed slightly.

"Paul? He's here? Oh um yeah my names Trudy." So Paul was alive? I was bewildered. I hadn't thought about Paul for years. How did he get here?

"You're looking a bit peaky. Want me to get you something to eat?" Sadey looked at me with concern, and she got up and pressed her hand against my forehead.

"Food sounds nice. My baby is probably starving." I automatically put my hand to my belly when I said this. I hoped for the first time, my baby was all right.

"Your pregnant?" Sadey said in surprise. She suddenly pulled her hand away from me, and looked at me wide eyed. I noticed her eyes were black like her sisters. "Well you really need to eat then! I'll get food right away." Sadey started to rush out, but I called out to her.

"Sadey, do you know someone named Fran?" I watched as she stopped quickly and look back at me darkly.

"Yeah I know her... What do you want her for?"

"My friend told me to find her when I got here... Where could I find her?" I bit my lip.. Sadey didn't seem to like the girl.

"She works at the casino. She lives above it." Sadey said tightly.

"Then I must go to her... After I eat."

"That's not wise Trudy. She's from a rough crowd."

"But I have to." Sadey looked at me shiftily, and she danced nervously on her feet.

"Okay fine." She said after a little while. "But, don't say I didn't warn you." Sadey walked out of the room then, leavening me in a confusing, buzzing, quiet that I didn't like at all.


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I still don't own a thing!**

**A/N: A-M; I love you! **

Chapter 10

When Sadey returned, she had in hand a large, plastic, red tray like the ones they use to have in fast food places, clutched in her hands. Her stubby pink painted nails clashed with the red, almost making her hands look like they were part of the tray. From where I was sitting, I could see she had placed a huge stack of pancakes on a large plate in the middle of the tray, and she had piled many strips of bacon onto a smaller plate next to the pancakes.

She smiled when she saw me staring hungrily at the food she brought. She carefully set the tray on my lap, and handed me a small fork. Then she sat down on the edge of my bed.

"We don't have any syrup I'm afraid. The farmers haven't brought the months new supply of food to the city yet." Sadey said, as she watched as I began to cut apart one of the pancakes on my plate.

"Oh that's quite all right. I haven't had pancakes for ages! They look wonderful." I finally took a bite, and found that these pancakes were the most delicious things I had ever eaten since the virus struck. "MMM!" I exclaimed. "Did you make these yourself?" I watched Sadey's grin grow wider as I shoveled the food in my mouth.

"Yes I did.. And you might want to slow down a bit." She laughed softly. "Your stomach might not take kindly to a lot of food at once."

"I guess your right." I slowed down my pace, and Sadey and I sat quietly for a while.

Finally when I was starting into my plate of bacon, she asked, "How far along are you?"

"Pregnant you mean?" I asked after I swallowed a bit of bacon. Sadey nodded in reply. "A month."

"So why did your friend send you to Bane city?" Sadey saw my face contract into a look of painful thought. "If you don't mind me asking."

I frowned a bit. I hadn't thought of Lex for about an hour, which was a good record for me. But now Sadey had put my mind right back on him. My head started to pound a little.

After an awkward silence though, I smiled a bit, and answered. "Well, My friend, her name's Amber, said this would be a safe place for me to have my baby. I wanted to leave where I lived before, because I already have a daughter, and well, I thought it would be best If I left for a while and left her with capable hands."

Sadey nodded. "I've seen Amber here before. She use to go in Fran's casino a lot. I don't know why she would befriend Fran.. She didn't seem like the type to hang around with Fran's riffraff.. But.. I can't judge." Sadey shook her head, and continued. "Anyway, you say you have a daughter? Aren't you going to miss her?"

I closed my eyes to this and sighed. I was going to miss Brady.. More then anything. "Of course I'll miss her. But it's better this way."

"I guess you have to follow your instincts." Sadey grabbed my now empty plate, and stood up. She placed the tray on the bed next to me, and turned back and looked into my eyes. "Are you ready to try to stand up? Seeing you're so determined to see Fran today."

I nodded and pulled the blankets off of me, and turned, placing my bare feet on the cold, white, linoleum.

Sadey grabbed my arm, and she slowly helped me stand up. Right away when she did, I felt a horrible rush of lightness to my head, and everything began to spin in front of my eyes. My leg hurt more then anything I had experienced, and soon I heard a loud scream erupting from my sore lips. I felt myself being pushed down onto my bed, and I felt someone, later it was obvious it was Sadey, shoving a cup of water to my lips. I coughed as the liquid poured into my mouth, and I finally ended up retching over the side of my bed. I started to shake, and it took about 5 minutes until I could see normal again. I could feel Sadey rubbing my back, and I saw her looking at me intently when I could finally see her.

"I- I'm sorry." I stammered. I coughed a little, and stared into Sadey's eyes.

"It's quite alright." Sadey said rubbing my back. "That was just a combination of morning sickness and the fact that your not fully healed." Sadey seemed shaken. She finally let go of me, and sighed, walking over to a cabinet on the wall on my right. She pulled out a white clean white medical gown, and handed it to me. "I want you to put that on and move to the bed next to you.. I'll get the one your sitting on now cleaned up later."

I grabbed the medical gown from her when she came back over and held it out, and carefully, I half hoped, half crawled onto the bed next to me, and I collapsed on it.

Sadey turned away for a moment and waited until I pulled the new medical gown on, and she took the soiled one from me. When she brought it over to a bin labeled "Laundry", she looked back at me, with worry etched in her face. "This settles it." She said firmly. "You're not leaving until your better."

I opened my mouth to protest, but Sadey shook her head. "No.. You're staying. You can't even stand up. And you have a baby to consider. Now your going to lay right back down, and your going to sleep. I'll bring you some food later."

I finally decided that protesting was a stupid thing to do. So I nodded and smiled a little. "Thank you. For letting me stay."

Sadey smiled back. "Your welcome here whenever. I'll help you the best I can. Now sleep."

With that, I laid down in my new bed, and cuddled myself into the blankets. I was surprised by how tired I was, because the minute I put my head on my pillow, I fell asleep.

I awoke to find that the hospital room I was in was dim with a faint light. I could tell it was sunset. My stomach growled with hunger, and my head was aching a little. To my surprise two people were sitting on the bed next to me whispering to each other. They were half in shadow, but I recognized them right away as the boy and the girl I had seen on the road. They didn't notice I was awake at first, so I just watched them. After a while the girl realized I was staring, and her face broke into a grin.

"Trudy your awake." Right away I recognized that voice. It was Patsy!

"Pasty!" I called out, sitting up quickly. "Your alive! And you must be Paul. "I nodded toward Patsy's brother, and he nodded happily.

"Good, now that you're awake I can turn on some light." I watched Patsy curiously as she walked over to the far wall and hit the light switch. Normally I would have expected nothing to happen, but the minute she hit the switch, all of the lights in the room erupted to life.

"They have actual power here?" I said, in shock.

"Yeah!" Patsy said happily as she sat down next to her brother. "They have their own generators. They power the whole city."

"I could learn to like this place." I said playfully as I sat back onto my bed. "So how did you two get here?"

"Paul's been here ever sense he left the mall 7 years ago. He wandered onto it by pure luck. He left cause Lex was bullying him to wear a suit for Zandra's wedding. He doesn't like weddings." Paul nodded as Patsy spoke. Still the same they were. Patsy did all the talking. "Me, I was sent to the mines after Luke pulled some strings. The Chosen broke up not long after, so I wasn't there long. And I wandered on this place by pure accident when I was trying to find my way back to the mall. I didn't want to leave once I knew Paul was here."

"Well I'm very glad you're both alive." I said, feeling a bit old as I did. Pasty looked so much older now that she had black hair and she had grown up so much. And Paul.. It was a lot to take in that they were now sitting right in front of me.

"We're glad you're alive too." Paul said, in the same muffled fashion as he had when we were on the road.

"Yeah we didn't think you'd make it though the night when we got you back here." Patsy shivered a little.

I was about to say that Cloe was at the mall, and that she missed Patsy terribly, when I erupted into a long yawn. Patsy began to speak again before I could.

"You better get some sleep. And you're most likely hungry." Patsy said this very quickly. "It's our fault you woke up."

"No no.. It's fine.. Well.. I am a little hungry.. But I think I want to sleep a bit more." I said quietly. "I'm glad to see you two though."

"We understand!" Paul said, getting up and grabbing Patsy's hand.

"Yeah. We'll wait out in the visiting waiting room just outside of here. And later we'll bring you food." Pasty started to walk towards the door, with Paul behind her, and she hit the light switch, and all of the lights slowly flickered out again.

"See you later you two." I called out as they walked out, quickly falling asleep again in the gathering darkness.


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything.**

**A/N: Yay new readers! Hello new readers! And returning old readers! Thank you so much for your comments and for reading. Hugs for all **

Chapter 11

It seemed as though the minute I set my head down onto my pillow, I was awoken again.

But what had awoken me was a very odd thing. I heard a weird whining, sort of like squeaking, flooding the whole hospital. When I slowly sat up, I quickly realized it was the intercom system. I managed to peer at the small intercom box on the far wall across from me, and winced when it wined again. My eyes felt strangely heavy, and they were hard to keep open. But my ears were working perfectly, or so I thought when I heard a cool woman's voice coming out of the intercom speaker.

_"Paging Doctor Lex."_ The voice said quietly,_ "Paging Doctor Lex to go to the reception area."_

I shook my head wildly, and rubbed my ears. 'I didn't hear that. I didn't hear that.' I mentally yelled at myself, and gazed at a strip of moonlight, trying to forget what I just thought I heard. There was a long pause, and for a while all I heard was the curtains on the windows fluttering in the breeze. An odd calm was settled in the room. It didn't last long though, because the speaker began to crackle and whine again, and the woman's voice shouted out her bulletin, louder this time.

_"Doctor Lex please report to the reception desk. Doctor Lex to the reception area."_

It was as if my legs had a mind of their own. While this second bulletin was going off, I ended up sitting with my legs dangling over the edge of my bed, and without my help, I found myself slowly standing up. For a few minutes, once I got upright, little black spots danced in front of my eyes, and my head was almost screaming with protest as seething pain attacked me again. But my legs didn't seem to care. My feet started moving, one foot in front of the other slowly, and my eyes drooped. It felt like my head wasn't a head at all it felt like a heavy weight that I just wanted to lift off my shoulders and forget about.

Slowly I began to move toward the door way of my ward, hearing nothing but the deep slow breaths I was making, and the quiet _'slip slap slip slap'_ sound my feet were making with each step.

When I finally got to the door way of my ward, I found it lead out to a dimly lit corridor that vaguely reminded me of the corridor I dreamt about the first night after I left the mall, which felt so long ago. This place smelled musty, and the carpet was rich, and looked like it was a light tan color. On each side of the hall were many doors with labels on them like, "Nurse's head office." and, "Incurable cases." I looked behind me, and saw the sign over my ward read, "injured and sick ward."

I started to walk forward into the corridor, when I spotted an old fashioned mirror on the wall in front of me. The outer rim was old and rusty, but it had the look of something that must have once been beautiful. The glass in the mirror was as old as the frame, for it looked spotty and dusty. But as I walked closer, I could still see myself in it.

I was almost frightened by what I saw. If I didn't know I was the only one in this long corridor, I would have thought I was seeing someone else, or a ghost. I looked so pale.

My eyes were had a sunken, sullen look of someone who might have been awake for 2 days. I was skinner then usual, and my medical gown hung loose on my body. There was a dark cut on my forehead, which stood out vividly on my pale skin, and the only thing I wasn't shocked about seeing was that my stomach looked a bit bigger then usual, but not by much.

I didn't have time to dwell on this though, because after about 4 minutes I heard the intercom whine again, and the woman's voice echo though out the corridor. She sounded more muffled this time.

_"Doctor Lex, third call to the receptionist desk, Doctor Lex to the Receptionist area." _

My feet started moving again; every step fell heavily onto the soft carpet, which muffled their sound. They seemed to know where they were going, because they kept walking, so I didn't protest.

After about 5 minutes, I saw in the distance a bright gleaming light, which told me I was close to where I wanted to go. I stopped a moment and took in where I was.

There was only one door around me now, it was labeled, "Emergency Surgery." Right outside it, on a patch of linoleum floor, was a large silver tray on a portable table. On it, I saw a whole assortment of scalpels, and other knives. Carefully I picked one up. It was small, but it could do damage if lunged right. It gleamed a little as I moved it. As I examined it, once again the bulletin asking for Lex came on the intercom again. When this one finished, I broke into a run, holding the small knife in front of me. Closer and closer the gleaming light at the end of the hall came, and finally I reached it.

I was in a large room. It was lit brightly, and it had large doors on the right side of it, the doors open to the night. There was an assortment of puffy comfortable chairs and couches by the door, and on one I saw Patsy. She was curled up, very asleep, and she shivered once in a while.

On the left side of the room, there was a large desk, and plump girl about 16 sat behind it, her arms folded. She was in deep conference with the man standing in front of her. This man was wearing a white medical coat, and had long, well kept raven hair. It was Lex.

Anger suddenly surged though me. I felt the cool knife in my sweaty hand, and I felt anger pulse though my body. At that moment I wanted to harm him, as badly as I possibly could. I wanted to keep him from hurting anyone like he hurt me. I wanted him to die.

I could not stand it any longer. I had to attack. I slipped quietly into shadow, and quickly ran over to Lex and the lady at the desk was. Right away with no hesitation, I jumped on Lex, and screamed out, as Lex and I fell onto the floor. Lex automatically put his arms over his face, and I started stabbing my small knife at his arms. I was cutting his shirt. (Why isn't his shirt white anymore?) He was screaming now. (Why does his voice sound different?)

Before I knew what was happening, I felt two pairs of arms pull me off of Lex. When they did, I found myself looking down at not at Lex, but Paul. He was whimpering, and the small cuts on his arms were bleeding freely. The bigger and stronger pair of hands that were holding me, the plump girl's, rushed to Paul's side, and she slowly helped him stand up, and rushed him off somewhere. I didn't see where. By then I couldn't actually see much. My eyes were filling in tears.

I dropped the knife in my hand, and I started to sob loudly. Patsy just woke up, and she was looking at the blood on the floor in front of me, and at the person behind me in utter confusion, and she ended up running somewhere. I sobbed harder, and I felt the set of hands on me let go, and I found out that Sadey was standing in front of me.

"Trudy..." She said in utter shock. She apparently didn't know what to think at the moment. She seemed afraid of me. She quickly bent down and picked up the knife I had thrown down, and she stared at me, as if not sure what to say. "Wh… Why did you do this?"

Finally then I let out a howling sob that I heard echo though the whole room.

"LEEEEEXXX!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Still own nada!**

**A/N: For your viewing pleasure, here is chapter 12! This happens to be my favorite chapter so I hope you all like it too.**

Chapter 12

It has been two months since my attack on Paul. It took two hours after my attack, for Sadey to get out of me who Lex was, and when I started to tell her I ended up telling her about how I thought I killed my own daughter, and how I was now seeing Lex everywhere, and the soul reason I came to Bane City was for the safety of my child.

Thankfully, Sadey took pity on me. But this time, I wasn't aloud out of my bed under any circumstance, unless I needed to use the bathroom. And every day I was watched over.

I was told by who ever was watching over me as I slept, (this was usually Paul or Patsy or both.) that I spent most of my night muttering and screaming. Thankfully though, for about two weeks, I didn't see Lex anywhere. I was pretty much calm when I was awake. I was even able to shovel down little amounts of food, but this was short lived.

After about 3 weeks, somehow I developed a horrible fever. No one knew the cause, and I barely remember anything from that time except for weaving in and out of an awakened state. I was told later that I had tried to jump out a window, but Sadey caught me in time. I finally got better though, but I was weak.

Luckily, or maybe not, even though I had been though hell, my baby was still alive. My stomach was quite large for only being three months along, but I didn't think much of it. I figured it was because after my fever bout, I began to eat as much as I possibly could. Soon I was able to stand without feeling faint, and I began to get stronger.

Now, two months later, I stood in front of one of the large windows in my room watching storm clouds gather in the sky. That day I wore a woven purple and green top, and a pair of purple pants. Ariel gave these to me. She came to visit me a lot now. She reminded me so much of Brady.

As I stood by the window, I looked over to the direction the casino that Fran worked at was. Sadey had pointed it out to me the week before. I knew I had been at the hospital too long. I needed to at lease go see Fran, because Amber had told me to, but I was reluctant to leave White Hospital at all. So Sadey suggested I just go talk to Fran, even though she advised me not to go, however, she also said, when I was done talking, I should come back to the hospital, because she would feel better if I did. Today was the day I was to leave.

As I stared out, I felt something little grip my hand. I turned around, and found a smiling Ariel looking up at me. "I picked you flowers today!" She said in a small squeaky voice.

Today her ponytails were high, and someone must have dyed the ends for her, because now they were a violent shade of pink. Her rosy cheeks matched her hair well.

Ariel pulled on my hand, and forced me to walk over to my bed, and she pointed at the small white vase that was now perched on the small table Sadey had put next to it. In the vase were 6 dying daisies. Their heads drooped, and they all begged for water, but Ariel didn't seem to notice. She just clutched my hand and watched for me to be happy, or sad.

I grinned to her after a moment, and picked up the little vase. "Their beautiful Ariel. Thank you." I said softly. I carefully put them down again, and took out a water pitcher. "But they're very thirsty indeed!" Carefully I poured some water into the vase, and while I was doing this, Sadey drifted in.

"Sadey Sadey!" Ariel squeaked out. "Look what I got Trudy!" She pointed excitedly at the vase next to me and the drooping flowers.

"Their beautiful!" Sadey said, hugging the little girl. "Why don't you go run along and play with Patsy?"

Ariel nodded, and ran off as soon as Sadey said this.

"She's a real sweet little girl." I said, turning to Sadey.

"Yeah she is." Sadey nodded in agreement. "So. Are you really going to go see Fran today then?" As Sadey said this, a lighting bolt streaked though the sky and I shivered. Why did I pick today?

I nodded to this, and ran my fingers over a few of the daisies. "I won't stay long though."

"You better not." Sadey's voice sounded sort of panic stricken. "Your still weak and still recovering. "

"Don't worry about me." I looked to the floor, and heard a loud crash of thunder. "I'll be just fine.

As I left the Hospital for the first time since I had arrived, a small shower had started.

Drops of rain hit my head every few steps, and the sky illuminated every time lighting struck. It didn't bother me one bit though as I trudged on.

As I neared the Casino, I could see a huge sign on it proclaiming it was called, "Violet Casino." I could plainly see why from the outside of it alone. The letters were casting a purple glow, and the building itself was painted purple and black. The huge black doors were thrown open, and a man about 20 stood at the entrance. He was about 2 heads taller then I, and his hair was dyed purple and black. He wore Black on his whole body, and looked as though he was trying to blend in with the door. He watched me approach the Casino, his dark eyes glaring. His eyes made me shiver. They seemed to be scanning me.

Seeing if I was welcome.

I walked up to him staring him in the eyes, showing him I was not afraid. Once I got into ear shot, he said in a deep voice, "What is your name little lady?"

I came up to him, and stared hard into his eyes. He seemed to realize I wasn't afraid of him when I spoke harshly, "My name is Trudy. I'm looking for Fran."

"Well you found her." The guard replied. "And I might even let you in to see her. If you give us a little kiss." He winked, but his smile faltered when I gave him an I'm-not-playing-games look. "Or, you can just go in." He pointed into the darkened hall. "You'll find Fran at the bar or waiting on the tables."

Without another word, I stepped into the dark hall he pointed at.

For a moment all I saw was black. I walked forward, and found myself looking at some purple strung beads that hung in a doorway. I nearly gasped when I walked behind them.

I was in a room, but not just an ordinary room. I was standing on a platform, which went all around the room, and in various spots had small flights of stairs leading to the bottom.

On the far wall, straight ahead of me was a large stage. It had dark purple curtains hanging in front of it, and the stage itself was made of dark mahogany wood.

Lamps did not light the room. It was lit by the glow in the dark silver stickers that were on the wall. They were huge stickers, each in the shape of a V with a dash going though it.

I was most enhanced however by the people weaving in and out of the tables that sat themselves on the deeply rich carpet, each lit by a small candle, and each with a large purple table cloth. The people weaving in and out of the tables held large trays with frothing beverages to the oddly dressed people sitting at the tables. They wore silver headdresses, with white feathers waving about on them. Their clothes were oddly cut leotards, each complete with a cape of their own. Their clothes shimmered in the dim light, suggesting they were covered in sequence.

I couldn't see the people sitting at the many round tables, but I could certainly see the sparkle of their eyes, and hear their laughter. A few of them had broken out into song. I could tell it was mostly men.

Near the corners, were a couple more flights of stairs, each going down to levels of the casino I couldn't see. But each of them had an arrow pointing at them that was lit by a silver light. They were labeled things like, "Casino Games" and "Bar."

Carefully I walked over to the stairs closest to me, and started to walk down them, seeing my hand momentarily pass across the silver glow in the dark stickers that had been wrapped around the black banister.

When I reached the bottom, one of the waitresses came over to me, her hand held in the air, because it was holding onto a tray with several beers on it. Her nails shimmered in the light, for they too were sparkling silver.

"How can I help you Hun?" She looked at me with her blue eyes, her silver eye shadowed eyelids blinking more then a normal humans. She scared me a bit.

"I'm looking for Fran." I said, yelling over the noise the people in the room were making.

"Oh, you'll find her downstairs, in the bar." The odd waitress said. "You know you're very pretty."

"Erm… Thanks." I replied. I didn't look back at the girl as I walked over to the stair well with the sign "Bar" over it.

As I walked I caught bits and pieces of what the people in the room were saying. Some of them were begging for the show to start, (whatever show that was.) And a lot of them were begging for the waitress to bring them more drinks.

When I finally got to the stairwell I wanted, I found it lead into a lightly lit room. The whole room wasn't carpeted. In fact the whole room, except for the people seemed to be made of wood. It was cramped, and cigarette smoke filled the air. I coughed a little as I walked though it, weaving in and out of the big wooden tables that were crowded together in here. The room was loud, and somewhere a song I couldn't recognize was playing. The guys down here were laughing happily, and almost all of them had a girl on their lap.

Most of them looked like waitresses who were off duty, because their head dresses were discarded. I spotted one man in a corner with dirty blond hair, with one of the waitresses on his lap. They were making out freely, and each time they broke apart, the man would guzzle down more beer, and smoke more cigarettes, and then he would clamp his mouth back on the girl. He must have tasted very disgusting.

There were other girls here as well, all of them wearing very skimpy things, some of them drinking some of them making out with a guy.

In the far corner I saw 3 men playing a game of pool, each laughing drunkly when one of their mates missed the balls entirely.

I walked though the smoky room, over to where the bar was. About three of the stools in front of it were taken, two of the occupants were playing a small card game, and it seemed every time they got a certain card, they would have to drink a shot of whiskey.

The third man was out cold, his head on his arm, and he was snoring loudly. I sat down next to him, feeling sick by the sight of him. He was unshaven, and a small stream of drool was coming out of his mouth. His eyes were shut tight, and there were dark rings around them.

I stared forward, seeing a mirror right next to a rack with different colored bottles of booze. Standing on the far end on the other side of the counter I was leaning on was a lady. She was talking to a blue haired man, handing him a drink every time he drained the one in front of him. Her eyes were unnaturally wide, and her hands were small and bony.

Her outfit was like the ones the waitresses upstairs had, but it was black with a purple cape instead of silver. Her hair was almost black, though it was purple, you could tell when she moved her head from side to side, and the light bounced off it. It was cut in an odd angle, and she had two small ponytails on the top of her head.

When she spotted me, she said something to the guy she was talking to, and she gracefully walked over to me. Her nose was beak like, so the minute I saw her face I was reminded of a great bird.

She paused at the booze cabinet and poured something that looked like the cider the guys at the mall had at Zandra's wedding that got them drunk, into a tall glass. She walked over to me, and set the drink in front of my hand.

"Here's a drink on the house." Her voice was chirpy. It sounded a lot like a baby bird's asking for food. She tilted her head, as though trying to get a better look at me. "You know you're very pretty. Are you here looking for work?"

This was starting to creep me out. She was the second girl here to comment on how I looked. I shook my head to her question, and replied, "No, I'm looking for Fran."

"Well you found her. I'm Fran." The girl chirped. She held out her bony hand and grabbed mine. Instead of shaking it however she stared at it. "You have good hands for carrying trays."

"Erm.. Thanks..." I said, taking my hand away from Fran.

"So, who sent you?" She asked, suddenly staring her unblinking eyes on mine. "Only people not looking for work are sent here by someone."

"I was sent here by Amber." I replied, trying not to blink too much. For some reason I felt if I blinked, I would be insulting her.

"Amber?" Fran looked slightly puzzled. "Amber… OH!" She grinned happily as if suddenly just having something dawn on her that made her very happy. "You mean Glenda!"

"Glenda?" I repeated. Now it was my turn to be puzzled.

"That's her stage name here." Fran replied, still not blinking. "How long have you been in Bane city?"

"Two months." I said shakily. Amber had a stage name here? Talk about your double life... "I've been staying at the White Hospital."

"White Hospital?" Fran repeated like an over sized parrot. "That's no place to stay you must stay here! As for Amber she's probably worried. I better send a message to tell her your here." Fran finally set her large eyes onto the sleeping man next to me. She hit him hard on the back of the head and yelled, "Wake up you big Lummox!"

The man slowly opened his eyes, and started to rub the back of his head. "What you hit me for? I was awake." He looked sleepily around, still rubbing the back of his neck. "What you want anyway."

"I need you to go tell Glenda that..." Fran looked at me expectantly.

"My names Trudy." I said, not even sure if that's what she wanted.

Fran nodded, and looked back at the man she had hit. "I want you to tell Glenda that Trudy is now in Bane city."

"What's in it for me?" The man said sheepishly, looking at me strangely.

"We'll decide that when you get back!" Fran replied sharply. "Now get off your bottom and go find Glenda."

Once the man had gone, Fran set her gaze on me again. "Now about you... I better get you a room."

"Erm." I said quietly. "I need to go back to the Hospital once I'm done here. Sadey's waiting for me."

"Oh..." Fran said in a rather sad voice. "Well... I guess that's okay for now. But I'm guessing Amber wants me to look after you."

"Yeah she said that you would." As I said this, I heard yelling behind me. I turned around quickly, and saw that the blond haired man I saw making out with the girl, and a darker haired man was starting to fight. They were punching and rolling around the floor, knocking everything out of the way.

Fran had some how gotten from behind the bar, and she was now yelling at the two to break it up.

I took this as an opportunity to leave. I didn't like this place anymore.

As I sneaked pass the fighting men and the yelling Fran, I found my way back up the stairs and into the main room of the casino. The guys up here were all hooting and hollering now, and I could see why.

A spotlight was fixed onto the stage, and on the stage was a woman, that I could have sworn was the one I had talked to when I first came in. She was now dancing to some strange music, and she was stripping off everything she had on. Already her breasts were showing, and she was waving two large fans, squealing each time the white feathers on the fans touched her nipples. Her silver thong was the only thing she had left on, and all the guys in the audience were really enjoying the display.

And now I realized where I was, a strip club. Right away I ran towards the exit, vowing once I got to the Hospital, I would rip my eyes out and get new ones.


	14. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything**

**A/N: Here's another chapter for you. It is my least favorite chapter because it took me 3 months to write, but I hope its still good. Lots of love!**

Chapter 13

Sometimes it feels like you have no control of your life, and that everything that is going wrong is sending your life into a downward spiral to your untimely death in the face of God himself.

That's how I felt when I stumbled out of Fran's club, and started to wander down the street. The wind slashed at my face brutally, as the rain fell in sheets.

However, with the wind, it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Even the ground, almost like everything around me was crying. I was crying too. My tears mixed with the rain, but I could feel the hot tears running down my face, just as I was running. The confusion over Amber was deep inside me, ever flowing. I had no answers and I didn't want them.

All I wanted was to run and not think. Thinking hurt too much. The cold rain chilled me to the bone, and yet still I ran... I ran for what felt like hours. I didn't stop until I felt the soft dark earth make contact with my knees.

Soon my face came in contact too, and all I could do was lay there and breath deeply. I half closed my eyes. Everything turned a smoky white. I seemed to just slip into a place of floating. Nothing seemed to matter.

Lex's name was all I could think about. I felt as though he was strangling me, though my sane part of my brain knew that was impossible. But soon I felt like I was gasping for breath, trying to move. I was drowning, drowning in a sea of mud, rain, tears, and swirling white. I don't know how long I lay there struggling to breath, but the next thing I knew I was dreaming again.

**_"Amber!" I could see nothing. I felt nothing. _**

_**All I could hear was the beating of a heart. It felt as though my body was floating though the darkness around me, and I was going to be falling forever. **_

_**"Amber!" I screamed again. The sound of the heartbeat grew louder. Soon I was falling in a sea of red. I gasped, trying to breathe, but the more I gasped, the more my sides were stabbed with pain. **_

_**My sides ached terribly, it felt like someone was biting at my skin from the inside, trying to ruin my organs. **_

_**I fell faster though the seas of red, my mouth open agape like a fish's, my eyes wide with fear. **_

_**Finally, I fell onto a soft, dark red, floor. When I landed I could suddenly breath again.**_

_**As I hyperventilated, I was shocked to see in front of me a large beating heart, larger then the earth itself. It was beating fast, each beat filling the air with a loud 'thu thunk!' Soon it got too loud for me to bear. **_

_**My hands clamped to my ears, and before I knew it, I was screaming. I screamed and screamed until finally my voice seemed to die. The heart in front of me started to beat slower, and I looked down at my now exposed stomach. The surface was bubbling, it seemed. **_

_**I fell backward, staring at my stomach, seething pain attacking me. Deep slashes suddenly appeared on my skin, getting deeper and deeper. And all the while the beating heart slowed more and more. Soon the scratches were so deep I knew I was dying. The heart I was staring at was my heart. It started to turn black, and slowly the beat started to die. I struggled to breath again, but the heart had stopped beating, and I felt death grip me. Slowly… Slowly I was slipping. I heard voices whisper fast... A murderous laugh...**_

"I'll take her back to the hospital! She needs to go back just look at her!"

"We can take care of her here, Sadey. Now kindly get out before I have you removed!"

I opened my eyes slowly. I was lying in a big, cuddly bed. The covers over me were dark velvet black, and under my head was a purple pillow. Purple curtains covered the window next to me, and a sick, feeble sunlight was filtering in. I was wearing silk pajamas with a large v with a slash though it on the breast pocket, and I felt so conferrable. It took me a while to realize Fran and Sadey were in the next room.

I could slightly see the back of Fran's purple/black head from where I lay. Her hands were on her hips and she was tapping her foot impatiently.

"For the last time Fran!" I heard an unseen Sadey screech. "She's pregnant. If she's not taken back to the hospital and given proper treatment, her and the baby may die!"

"I asked you nicely Miss... Now I'm afraid I must have you removed. " Fran snapped her fingers, and I heard a door open. "Guards, see it that Miss Fran finds her way to her hospital... And that she stays there."

There was a sound of breaking pottery, and the sound of muffled screaming that followed next. It seemed the guards had quite a hard time getting Sadey out of the door. When everything finally calmed down though, Fran turned around and peered her strange eyes into the room I lay.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, "Your awake! I'm sorry you had to hear that." She tilted her head to the side and walked toward me. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded, even though I was lost for words. Fran seemed to be happy by the news I was hungry, and she quickly opened a cupboard by the door and took out container, holding cereal. She walked over to me gracefully, and handed me the container. Before I grabbed it however, I asked her a burning question that was bothering me greatly. "How long have I been out this time?"

"Ohhh three days!" Fran said chirpily. "I found you in the out skirts of town, yah. Every day since I brought you back here that Sadey girl has been trying to get me to hand you over. Hah! Amber wants you taken care of and that's what I'm gonna do." She shoved the container in my hands and watched me for a while. Her brilliant emerald eyes sparkled as I slowly ate the food she gave me. "Why did you run off like that?"

"This place!" I exclaimed, suddenly realizing where I was. "It's a strip club!"

"Yeah? So?" Fran tilted her head more. I thought it was going to fall off at this rate.

I didn't say anything back. I felt sick. All I wanted to do was sleep. Finally when I had eaten all the food Fran had given me, I lay back down. "I really should be at White hospital." I muttered, slipping asleep.

"Yah, you worry when you wake up! Now you need sleep!"

I couldn't protest, because what she said was right.

I was woken up again by the sound of more pottery breaking. It seemed to be very late judging by the moonlight filtering into the room. I heard angry voices floating from the room outside mine again, just like when Fran and Sadey had been arguing that morning.

But this time it was different. It was more heated, and the second person arguing was a man. I recognized his voice to be of the guy that Fran had sent out to send Amber a message.

"You bitch!" He screamed. "You said there would be payment for sending a message!"

"Shut up Drake! I gave you payment. 10 Casino tokens are a great deal. "

"That wasn't the payment I wanted from you Fran!" I heard a loud smack, and a thud. "I want you to suck me off."

"No way Drake." Fran yelled. "Your drunk. Get your ass out of here NOW."

There was another smack, and Drake's voice exploded. "Suck me off now or I swear..."

"GET OUT!" Fran's voice was louder. She sounded like she was crying.

"This isn't over!" Drake replied. There were then heavy footsteps, and then there was a slamming of a door.

Fran's sobs erupted loudly from the next room. Gingerly I stood up, and even though it hurt terribly, I slowly walked toward the door. The scene I was met with was terrible.

The room Fran was lying in the middle of was a violent shade of purple, except for the wooden floor. There were broken, pale silver, vases all over the floor. One of the once beautiful chairs was smashed, and the window on the west side was shattered. The glass surrounded Fran, and she had blood flowing down her lip, and tears flowing down her face.

She looked at me, and she broke. "Get out of here!" She screamed. "And don't come back!"

At first I didn't move, but soon she started to get up, and she slipped, falling on some glass. "I SAID GET OUT!"

I slowly started walking toward the door, feeling sick.

My bear feet kept hitting broken glass, and the soles of my feet got cut. And all the time I was walking to the door, I stared at Fran. Her purple and black outfit, and her breast was poking out, and it was cut. Her arms were bruised, and she was breathing deeply. "GO!" She screamed one more time before I managed to slip out the door, after a moment of agony trying to get it open.


	15. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**A/N: All right so I didn't get a review yet for the last chapter. I'm impatient… he he. So, without further ado, the second to last chapter, chapter 14!**

Chapter 14

Walking back to White Hospital proved to be somewhat of a chore.

I was weaker then I thought, and adding on the fact my feet were cut and bleeding, the hard, tarred roads felt like the fires of hell underneath me.

I couldn't tell if it was the material of the pajama's I was wearing, or if the air was really as warm as it seemed. Even though I was so hot, I shivered anyways, but felt glad when White Hospital came into view.

For the first time I knew how truly thankful I was for everything that Sadey and her little sister were doing. I was getting really sick of getting hurt so much at this point.

It seemed no matter what I did I would end up waking up in some bed the next day.

When I finally, limping, arrived inside White Hospital, I found that no one was around the entrance hall, but I heard voices floating from a room by the receptionist desk. One was a highly drunken sounding voice and the other was Sadey.

"I was told she was here!" The drunken voice screamed.

I could have sworn I recognized that voice, but… No it couldn't be!

Slowly I crept to the door way and peered in, hiding in the shadows. Sure enough, Sadey was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, and standing in front of her, gripping onto the desk, was a tall, midnight black haired someone. Lex…

"Well too bad." Sadey replied stiffly. "I have no time for a hunt, so kindly leave and try to find her somewhere else."

"I'll find her." Lex said angrily. "Even if I have to rip this place apart brick by brick!"

"I TOLD you! She is not here! For the last time! She's at the casino. Now get out of my sight." Sadey looked up from the documents she was holding, and she stared into Lex's hard cold eyes.

Lex didn't seem happy about this at all. He started to walk away, and as he did, he slammed his fist into the wall.

As he headed to the doorway, I quickly pressed myself into the corner, trying to make it look like I was part of the wall. I actually blessed Fran silently for giving me such dark clothing.

Lex didn't even glace at me as he walked by, and he swayed a little as he walked toward the doorway and out into the night.

It took me a few minutes to regain the will to breath. I slowly began to walk over to the doorway where Sadey was. She was feverishly looking though her papers for something, but I ignored that and spoke up.

"Sadey…" I said this barely over the sound of a whisper.

The next day an announcement was passed out by the people who ran the city that Fran's body had been found brutally cut and stabbed in her sitting room.

The flyers that were passed out were basically a plea for any information on who could have done such a terrible thing.

On the poster there was an account of many people seeing a dark haired man lurking about the casino drinking many drinks about the time of the death that wasn't from Bane city. Three guesses to who I thought that was.

The thought of Lex being a murderer was fresh in my mind for weeks to come. My nightmares continued, and they seemed to be taking over my waking hours as well.

Sadey tried to put me to work, but I was pretty useless, because I'd end up thinking I saw Lex somewhere, and I'd cause destruction to whatever was around me.

Weeks and months became a blur to me. I became bed ridden again, but this time I wasn't aloud privacy at all, and all sharp objects were removed from my room. It felt like my entire grip on reality was slipping, and it didn't matter how hard I held on.

I was vaguely aware of being fed, and I felt myself do other basic needs like take a bath.

However it felt like I was floating; that all of this was happening to someone else. By the time I was 8 months pregnant nothing seemed to exist anymore.

I was me in my own little world, curled up on my bed thinking about Lex and my soon to be born baby.

The only thing out of everything that I did that felt real was when I put my hands on my large belly and thought about what was inside, and what would soon be here. However I had no feeling toward the matter. It was all I knew, but I didn't know if I was happy or glad… I just knew it was going to happen.

It was now some time in the summer. I wasn't aware of what month. I kept my dark soulless looking eyes locked on the window by my bed, pondering what had turned me so insane.

How could all of this have happened, the hallucinations, the pain, the nightmares, the…everything, just because Lex had raped me?

I remember a long time ago after it happened telling myself that I wouldn't let Lex take over my life, and yet that was exactly what he did. It didn't matter now though, none of it did. I had no desire to do anything but stare out of the window, and pray Lex didn't come for me.

A week later, Sadey, or was it Patsy? I didn't really look at them to find out.

One of them came in and said I had a visitor. At first I felt the desire to tell them to tell the person to go away, until I saw who it was.

Amber stood in the doorway of "my" ward. She looked more beautiful then ever. Her Zulu Knots were very small, and dyed a blue green, and she was wearing a very Eco type outfit. She smiled grandly when she spotted me, but her eyes showed much concern, as she looked me over.

"Trudy?" She whispered, her lips trembling.

"Amber…" I said weakly back. This was the first word I had uttered for quite some time.

I almost forgot what my voice sounded like.

Amber's eyes filled with tears, as she looked me over. She walked over to where I sat, and she sat next to me. She seemed to be lost, not knowing what to say or do. "It's been so long…"

"I know." I replied, smiling weakly.

Amber and I spent the next hour catching up with each other.

Life had gone on the same as ever at the Eco camp, and Bray had moved there with Amber so he could be closer to his son.

Brady missed me terribly, but after a while she had just stopped asking for me, thinking she'd never see me again.

The subject of pregnancy came up, and Amber had asked how far along I was.

I told her that today was my ninth month.

Amber went on to tell me that she wanted to come see me months before when Fran's messenger came, but she was delayed because she had to go back to the city to put Lex on trial for Fran's death. Apparently the news traveled fast to the City. Of course Lex had been found innocent, even though there were many witnesses that said he was gone from the mall long enough to come to Bane city and go back.

The topic of Fran brought back all the questions I had for Amber before, and had forgotten.

"Why were you working at the Violet casino Amber?" I asked a moment after Amber mentioned Fran's death.

"Well…" Amber began, sighing. "I guess it all started a year ago. I wanted to run away once from the Eco's because I couldn't take it anymore. Remember that?"

I nodded and she went on.

" Well when I ran away, I accidentally stumbled on this place. Fran found my wandering in the rain and gave me a place to sleep.

She told me that she knew who I was because she knew Bray. She had worked at a Techno camp with him. Fran and I became fast friends.

When she asked me to work at her casino I didn't want to refuse."

She paused and laughed at the shocked look on my face, then kept going. "No don't worry I never stripped for men. I only worked on the bar and walked around as a waitress.

Well after a while I told Fran I had to leave. I came back to visit her a few times, but after a while we just got distant from each other."

I sat for some time later, thinking about all this.

It seemed like way too much information at once. And as the moon light poured into the large bay windows and danced on Amber's face (who was sleeping on the bed next to mine), I wondered what other things Amber had never shared about herself.

When I finally did fall asleep however, yet again I was plagued with nightmares. That was what my life was. A nightmare.

**_"Lex no, you cannot have him!" Crash! The loud sound of whatever had crashed met my ears, and echoed though my head. When I opened my eyes, I found myself feeling as I once did, and as I looked down I was thin again, and everything seemed as though it was a year ago._**

**_I was in the mall, outside my old room. There were voices erupting from inside, one of course Lex, and strangely, the other one was mine._**

**_I peered into the doorway, not caring if I was seen or not, and I was met with a peculiar scene. I was in the room, clutching a tiny baby boy. I didn't look like me though._**

**_I looked years older, with grays in my hair. I looked cracked, and there were many frown lines around my mouth. I was staring angrily at the person in front of me, Lex._**

**_"Give me that child! HE'S MINE!" Lex bellowed. He looked the same, but he was wearing a black plastic mask over his face. In his left hand he was holding a knife._**

**_He slowly advanced toward me, stabbing the knife in the air. The older version of me backed away from him, and she dropped the baby in her arms. It smashed in a million pieces as though it was made of glass, and this seemed to anger Lex more._**

**_He advanced toward the over version of me in the room, and he thrust his hand forward, the knife entering my stomach._**

**_Even though it was happening to the me in the room, it felt like he had stabbed the real me. My insides screamed with agony as Lex stabbed. I was screaming too, screaming and screaming until I couldn't breath anymore._**

Slowly I came back to the land of the living, and realized quickly what was going on as the pain I was in slowly subsided. "Amber Amber!" I screamed out. "I'm going to have my baby!"


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

**A/N: This is the last chapter! I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm currently working on the sequel, "Pieces of tears" So look out for that!**

Chapter 15

The birthing room was almost silent as I lay dozing under the thin blankets that cover the birthing bed.

The room was unnaturally warmed, almost stifling. Even though it was 9 in the morning it was very dark inside, because huge curtains were hung permanently on the window.

The only sound in the room was light sucking, which was coming from the babies that lay on my chest.

I had given birth to twins, and they were still blood soaked, being only 10 minutes old.

Sadey had excused herself so she could go find water to clean the babies, and so I could nurse them. Clinging to my left breast, sucking gently on my nipple was the baby girl twin. She had raven hair just like Lex, but it was just fuzz. Her eyes were the same color as mine, and she looked beautiful. Her hands and feet were so little. Had Brady's been this small? I felt guilty because when Brady was this size I was ignoring her.

On my right breast the baby boy twin I gave birth to was sucking also on my nipple.

Though it felt more like he was biting it. His little nails on his little fingers were scratching at my skin, and as I held him to me, I found I was too tired to care it hurt so much. He had brown hair like mine, but his eyes were Lex's. It was almost disturbing to look into his small dark eyes. I was almost waiting for him to lash out even though he was just born.

The birth was hard, painful and bloody. Between contractions, I saw Patsy, with Ariel on tail, bringing in towels and rags. This must have been real dejavou for her, and Amber. The whole time Amber was there holding my hand and encouraging me on.

Sadey had been wonderful. She delivered both babies and handed them to me, tears shining in her eyes exclaiming how beautiful they were.

Everything felt unreal as I lay nursing the twins. Some time later Sadey and Amber came back and took the twins so I could sleep, and they could get cleaned up. And for the first time since what seemed like forever, I didn't have one nightmare.

"Did you name them yet?"

It was three days later. Patsy and I stood in the nursery of White hospital, standing by the cribs that had been set up especially for my twins.

The room was small, and the walls were white. The carpet was a soft baby pink, and in one corner was a rocking chair, and next to it a changing table.

Patsy was at the changing table, tickling my baby boy's stomach as she changed him. The sunlight that filled the small room because of the large window warmed it nicely. Patsy turned her face toward me, her black hair swishing as she did.

I smiled slightly and sighed. "Not yet Pats." The truth was I didn't even feel like I was obliged to name them. Sometimes it didn't even feel like they were mine.

"Maybe you should name this one Damien." Patsy grinned down at my son and finished dressing him back up. She had put him in little footie pajamas. They were very much like the ones Bray had put on his son when…

I fought back the urge to cry, and tried to keep smiling convincingly. "I think Damien is a perfect name." I walked over to Patsy and picked Damien up from the changing table, and carried him over to his crib and set him down.

Patsy wandered over to the crib where my second daughter rested and smiled down at her. "You know Trudy, you never told me who got you pregnant." She reached down to the baby girl in the crib, her brow furrowed.

"Oh." I replied, my voice starting to shake. "It was a accident. I got drunk at the casino and woke up the next day in someone's bed."

"Oh." Patsy replied. "I just find it strange…"

"What… What do you find strange?" I questioned, biting my lip, and staring over at Patsy.

Pasty looked up at me looking particularly confused. "They just look so much like Lex."

After about a week I named the little girl Angel. I was hoping if I named her something sweet, she wouldn't inherit the man who fathered hers attitude.

Amber talked to me briefly about charging Lex with a rape crime, seeing as we had two flesh and blood proof of what he did. I finally told her I wouldn't be able to go though with it. Too many painful memories were attached with it. Amber reluctantly agreed after a while, then we discussed going back to the Eco's and I agreed. Just as long as we'd be able to come visit Bane city whenever possible, I'd be happy. Of course, being cursed as I am, that never happened.

Two weeks after the birth of my twins, I was sitting alone in their room on the rocker.

Both the twins were sleeping and I was dosing off as well. The multicolored light I had traded for at the market for the room was on, and the moon was shining in. It was a full moon again, and again I felt like it was watching me.

The light of the color lamp danced on the walls, casting odd shadows, and all I could hear was the crickets chirping. I turned my sleepy eyes to look at the door, which was shut, for no reason at all.

To my surprise the doorknob started to turn. I was afraid for some reason, and I couldn't help but shiver when I heard scratching on the other side of the door. Finally, the door swung open in one quick moment, and standing in the door way was Lex.

He looked angry, his breath coming out rattled. He was wearing a white medical coat, and his hand was deep inside his pocket.

"Lex?" I managed to squeak out. I glanced over to the twins and still they slept on.

Lex drew out his hand, and sure enough the ever-appearing scalpel was in his hand.

I looked at his hand and shock and quickly shoved my hand into my pocket. I had kept that scalpel in my pocket just in case. How had Lex gotten it?

"I told you I'd save this for later." Lex whispered. Flashes of him sneaking into my room once before just like now flashed though my head. They were just hallucinations though weren't they?

Lex's eyes flashed in anger, and he dived at me.

I fell off the rocking chair, smacking my head against the changing table. I crawled away, feeling my head bleeding, but Lex pounced.

He drew out the knife and he stabbed at every inch of me possible. The pain was terrible. I was screaming. I was screaming for my life. Then finally the scalpel stabbed into my chest. I knew I was bleeding to death.

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Lex was gone. I was holding the scalpel in my chest. I had lunged it into my heart.

Slowly everything slipped away, slowly fading to black. I didn't bother to fight it. I was leaving this world for good. "I love you Brady…" I managed to whisper as I heard the door swing open. I closed my eyes, and then finally, I did not feel anymore.

_Epilogue_

_**My story is done. I, Trudy, have died .Lex finally took over my life; he has won, but Brady's, Damien's, and Angel's story goes on. May they have more luck then I did in life.**_

**A/N: Thank you to all my readers! In case the ending is confusing, Trudy killed herself. It confused a few of my readers on a bb I go to. Thanks again for reading. Keep a look out for pieces of tears, coming to a Fan fiction place near you!**


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